Cisneros art trove ends its nomadic phase

The fate of the Cisneros collection of Latin American art, considered among the best ever assembled, is a question that has long preoccupied art lovers in Venezuela and throughout the world.

For the last decade, the collection owned by Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, wife of a Venezuelan media magnate, has been an itinerant one, lent out in tranches to dozens of museums in North and South America.

Cisneros’ foundation says it has fulfilled that phase’s stated mission: to educate the public and tastemakers and convince them that modern Latin American art is richer and more diverse than many people’s perceptions of it, which often begin and end with Mexican painter Frida Kahlo and muralists such as Diego Rivera.

Now, officials at the New York-based foundation say the collection’s gypsy period is over and that they have launched a “strategic plan” that will decide its future. Among the options being considered is a permanent home or homes for the art, said foundation director Gabriel Pérez-Barreiro.

“It’s always something to think about. It’s on the table. But so far she’s not been in favor of establishing her own museum,” Pérez-Barreiro said of Cisneros. Other options include expanding the foundation’s art education program and broadening its evangelical mission to include Europe and Asia, he said.